How  Our  Church  Came  to  Our  Country 
Bishop  Cheshire 


Stye  library 

of  tits 

HmuprBttg  nf  Nnrtfy  (Carolina 


(Eollrrtinn  of  Wortij  (Earolttttana 

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THE 


pint  of  J$lts#tonsi 

AN  ILLUSTRATED  MONTHLY  REVIEW 
OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS 


MAY,  1918  vfc^vu 


CONTENTS 

■frontispiece ;   Chnrcll  of  Saint  .lames.  Tsii  ami   Saint   Agues'**  School.  Kyoto.  Japan  300 

Editorial :  The  Progress  of  the  Kingdom 301 

The  Sanctuary  of  Missions 305 

The  Heart  of  Japan Bishop  Tucker  307 

A  Message  From  Liberia Bishop  Lloyd  322 

An  Opportunity  in  South  Carolina Archdeacon  Baskervill  325 

A  Bishop  in  a  Barn Bishop  Wise  327 

Santo  Domingo * Reverend  William  Wyllie  329 

In  Haiti  Awaiting  Bishop  Colmore Reverend  H.  R.  Carson  333 

The  Educational  Department 338 

Our  Letter  Box:   Letters  From:  Archdeacon  Schotlcld,  Liberia;   Reverend  J.  M.  B. 

Gill,  Nanking,  China 339 

Meeting  of  the  Executive  Committee 341 

News  and  Notes 341 

Letter  to  the  Editor:   Bishop  Israel 343 

How  Our  Church  Came  to  Our  Country:  XXIX.     How  Our  Church  Came  to  North 

Carolina   Bishop   Cheshire  345 

The  Woman's  Auxiliary:  "Personally  Conducted" Edna  Biller  353 

Announcements  Concerning  Missionaries  and  Speakers 3C1 

Acknowledgment   of  Offerings .- 362 


Published  by  the  Domestic  and  Foreign  Missionary  Society 

of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America, 

281  Fourth  Avenue,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Entered  as  second-class  matter  July  8,  1879,  at  the  Post  Office  at  New  York,  N.  Y., 
under  the  Act  of  March  3.  1879. 


The  Subscription  Price  of  THE  SPIRIT  OF  MISSIONS  is  $1.00  per  year  in  ad- 
vance. Postage  is-  prepaid  in  the  United  States  and  its  possessions.  For  other 
countries,  including  Canada,  24  cents  per  year  should  be  added. 

Changes  of  Address  must  reach  us  by  the  15th  of  the  month  preceding  the  issue 
desired  sent  to  the  new  address.     Both  the  old  and  new  address  should  be  given. 

How  to  Remit:  Remittances  should  be  made  payable  to  THE  SPIRIT  OF  MIS- 
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lection. In  accordance  with  a  growing  commercial  practice,  when  payment  Is  made 
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accompanied  by  a  three-cent  stamp. 

Address  all  Communications  to  THE  SPIRIT  OF  MISSIONS,  281  Fourth  Avenue, 
New  York  City. 


299 


:n**3. 


CHURCH  OF  SAINT  JAMES  AND  PARISH  HOUSE,  TSU,  DISTRICT  OF 

KYOTO,  JAPAN 


MAIN  BUILDING,  SAINT  AGNES'S  SCHOOL,  KYOTO 

This  picture  makes  the  building  appear  very  much  better  than  it  really  it.    New  buildings 
are   absolutely   necessary  and  a  committee  is  raising  the  money  for  them 


300 


LETTER  TO  THE  EDITOR 


To  the  Editor : 

SOME  three  months  ago,  through 
information  gained  by  correspond- 
ence with  the  rectors  of  the  American 
churches  in  France,  Italy  and  Switzer- 
land, I  made  a  report  to  Bishop  White- 
head of  the  Commission  on  American 
Churches  in  Europe,  of  the  condition 
of  these  congregations.  Saturday  I  re- 
turned from  a  two  months'  visitation 
of  our  camps,  during  which  time  I 
spent  several  days  in  each  of  our  par- 
ishes in  Nice,  Florence  and  Rome,  and 
with  the  Rev.  Clement  Brown,  who  has 
a  private  licensed  chapel  in  Cannes, 
and  I  found  no  cause  to  change  the 
statements  made  in  my  report. 

Just  now  a  new  and  serious  situation 
has  arisen  at  the  Church  of  the  Holy 
Trinity,  Paris.  On  March  the  elev- 
enth, the  Reverend  Dr.  Watson  pre- 
sented his  resignation  to  the  vestry. 
Anyone  realizing  the  strain,  both  men- 
tal and  physical,  of  the  last  four  years, 
through  which  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Watson 
have  passed,  will  not  be  surprised,  for 
there  is  a  limit  to  human  endurance 
even  among  the  strongest.  The  old 
"American  Colony"  of  Paris  has  dis- 
persed, and  with  it  the  demand  for  the 
present  dignified  form  of  cathedral 
service:  a  new  era  has  come  and  a 
new  problem  has  arisen  from  war  con- 
ditions, to  meet  which  new  methods 
must  be  originated. 

Paris  is  full  of  Americans  of  every 
type  of  Churchmanship;  and  hence  in 
the  services  and  in  the  methods  of 
church  work  there  must  be  radical 
changes  made.  In  his  present  condi- 
tion of  fatigue,  Dr.  Watson  feels  it 
unwise  and  virtually  impossible  for 
him  to  attempt  these  changes.  After 
advising  with  the  bishops  here,  he  has 
taken  the  one  means  by  which  he  feels 
some  priest  may  be  able  to  continue  to 
keep  up  the  Church  in  its  present  posi- 


tion of  leadership  for  American  Chris- 
tianity, which  he  has  so  ably  repre- 
sented among  the  French  people. 

The  vestry,  with  many  expressions 
of  regret  and  esteem,  and  with  emo- 
tion, accepted  the  resignation,  and,  as 
some  slight  expression  of  their  feeling, 
unanimously  requested  him  to  continue 
his  relationship  with  the  parish  by  ac- 
cepting the  title  and  post  of  "Rector 
Emeritus  without  duties  or  emolu- 
ments, and  with  a  right  to  a  seat  in  the 
chancel  at  all  times". 

Dr.  and  Mrs.  Watson  will  shortly  re- 
turn to  America,  where,  at  the  request 
of  the  vestry,  they  will  present,  after 
a  few  months'  rest,  the  needs  of  our 
work  in  Paris.  A  committee  com- 
posed of  the  wardens  and  bishop  in 
charge,  have  secured  the  services  of 
the  Reverend  J.  W.  Beekman,  for- 
merly dean  of  the  pro-cathedral  of  the 
diocese  of  Bethlehem,  as  locum  tenens 
for  six  months,  from  April  first. 

With  Dr.  Watson's  retirement  the 
intimate  and  important  relations  in 
which  he  has  been  associated  with  the 
French  authorities  from  the  beginning 
of  the  war,  will  of  course  cease,  but  we 
hope  the  loving  interest  and  contribu- 
tions of  his  many  friends  in  America 
will  continue  toward  his  successor. 

Owing  to  the  greatly  reduced  income 
occasioned  by  the  war,  and  the  unpar- 
alleled opportunity  for  continued  lead- 
ership on  the  part  of  the  Church  of  the 
Holy  Trinity,  the  bishop  in  charge  has 
appealed  to  the  Commission  on  Ameri- 
can Churches  in  Europe  for  $15,000 
annually  during  the  war  and  for  a  few 
years  thereafter,  which  appeal  he 
hopes  the  Church  in  America,  realiz- 
ing its  importance,  as  everyone  must 
who  understands  the  situation,  will 
support  and  urge.  .    Rogers  Israel, 

Bishop  of  Erie,  in  charge  of  the 
American  Churches  in  Europe. 


343 


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THE  ARRIVAL  OF  THE  ENGLISHMEN  IN  VIRGINIA,  1584 


WALLS  OF  SAINT  PHILIP'S   CHURCH,  OLD  BRUNSWICK 

344 


J|oto  ©wt  Cfmrcf)  Came  to  <&uv  Country 


XXIX.  HOW  OUR  CHURCH  CAME  TO  NORTH  CAROLINA 

By  Bisliop  Cheshire 


Earliest  Colony 

THE  seal  of 
the  diocese  of 
North  Carolina 
shows  a  pinnace,  fly- 
ing the  red  cross  of 
Saint  George,  sailing 
towards  a  wooded 
shore,  while  a  man 
standing  in  the  prow 
holds  out  a  cross 
toward  the  land.  This  is  taken  from 
John  White's  drawing  of  the  Arrival 
of  the  Englishmen  in  Virginia  in  July, 
1584.  The  land  which  the  pinnace 
is  approaching  is  Roanoke  Island. 
Two  small  ships  lying  outside  the  bar 
represent  the  two  barks  of  Captains 
Philip  Amadas  and  Arthur  Barlow, 
"servants  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh",  who 
took  possession  of  the  newly-discov- 
ered land  "in  the  right  of  the  Queen's 
most  excellent  Majestie".  This  whole 
region  they  named  "Virginia"  in  honor 
of  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  in  its  early 
use  the  name  included  the  whole  At- 
lantic coast  held  by  the  English. 

When  the  colony  at  Jamestown  had 
been  successfully  established,  the 
southern  boundary  of  the  Province 
of  Virginia  was  the  36°  30'  paral- 
lel of  north  latitude,  so  that  it 
did  not  include  Roanoke  Island  and 
the  adjacent  coasts.  By  the  char- 
ters of  Charles  II  in  1663  and  1665 
the  vast  region  lying  south  of  Virginia 
and  north  of  the  Spanish  settlements 
in  Florida  was  granted  to  eight  emi- 
nent Englishmen  known  as  the  "Lords 
Proprietors    of    Carolina",    and    was 


erected  into  a  Province,  and  the  name 
"Carolina"  was  given  to  it.  This  name 
probably  came  originally  from  the 
French,  who  had  attempted  some  set- 
tlements north  of  the  Spaniards  in  the 
reign  of  Charles  IX.  It  was  first  ap- 
plied to  the  country  south  of  Virginia 
by  Charles  I  of  England  in  1629,  in 
a  patent  to  Sir  Robert  Heath.  Noth- 
ing having  been  attempted  under  that 
charter  of  Charles  I,  Charles  II  re- 
granted  this  region,  and  attached  the 
name  permanently  to  the  country.  It 
being  too  vast  a  tract  to  be  conven- 
iently administered  under  one  govern- 
ment, about  1710  the  settlements  along 
the  north  side  of  Albemarle  Sound, 
begun  about  1662,  became  the  colony 
of  "North  Carolina",  while  the  later 
settlements,  at  the  junction  of  the  Ash- 
ley and  Cooper  rivers,  became  "South 
Carolina".  These  two  colonies  eventu- 
ally developed  into  the  states  and 
dioceses  of  North  and  South  Carolina. 
It  happens  therefore  that  the  site  of 
the  first  English  colony  in  America, 
and  the  spot  where  the  first  ministra- 
tions of  the  Church  were  associated 
with  the  life  of  an  English  commu- 
nity on  this  continent,  lies  within  the 
territory  of  the  state  of  North  Caro- 
lina and  the  diocese  of  East  Carolina. 

In  1585  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  sent  out 
a  large  exploring  expedition  under 
Ralph  Lane,  with  a  view  to  preparing 
the  way  for  permanent  settlement. 
This  expedition  was  brought  out  by 
that  most  illustrious  Elizabethan  naval 
hero,  Sir  Richard  Grenville.  In  the 
company  were  Thomas  Hariot,  an  emi- 


345 


How  Our  Church  Came  to  Our  Country 


nent  Cambridge  Scholar,  who  was  to 
examine  and  report  upon  the  natural 
productions  of  the  country,  and  John 
White,  a  draughtsman,  who  was  to 
make  pictorial  representations  of  the 
inhabitants,  their  dwellings  and  occu- 
pations, and  the  like.  Thus  Sir  Wal- 
ter Raleigh  anticipated  the  scientific 
expeditions  of  later  years.  This  colony 
of  exploration  remained  a  year  at 
Roanoke  Island,  returning  to  England 
in  the  fleet  of  Sir  Francis  Drake  in 
the  summer  of  1586. 

In  order  to  carry  out  his  plans  for 
the  permanent  settlement  of  the  coun- 
try Raleigh,  under  his  royal  patent  of 
1584,  formed  a  corporation  January  7, 
1587  (1586  old  style)  of  nineteen  citi- 
zens of  London,  who  should  advance 
money  and  supplies,  and  thirteen 
"gentlemen  adventurers"  who  should 
personally  head  the  enterprise.  With 
John  White  as  governor,  these  gentle- 
men adventurers  were  constituted  the 
rulers  of  the  colony,  under  the  title  of 
"The  Governor  and  Assistants  of  the 
City  of  Raleigh  in  Virginia". 

Under  this  charter  a  colony  of 
<vninety-one  men,  seventeen  women 
and  nine  boys  and  children"  sailed 
from  Plymouth  May  8,  1587,  sighted 
land  July  sixteenth,  somewhere  in  the 
vicinity  of  Cape  Fear  (Promontorium 
Tremendum) ,  on  which  they  narrowly 
escaped  being  cast  away,  made  Hat- 
teras  July  twenty-second,  and  soon 
after  landed  at  Roanoke. 

Two  interesting  events  marked  the 
opening  days  of  this  first  English  col- 
ony planted  in  North  America.  Ama- 
das  and  Barlow  in  1584  had  carried 
back  with  them  to  England  two  In- 
dians, Manteo  and  Wanchese.  Manteo 
had  become  a  convert  to  Christianity, 
and  ever  remained  the  faithful  friend 
and  ally  of  the  English ;  Wanchese  be- 
came their  implacable  foe.  Manteo 
returned  to  Roanoke  with  the  colo- 
nists. We  read  in  White's  account  of 
these  days,  "The  thirteenth  of  Au- 
gust," that  being  the  Ninth  Sunday 
after   Trinity,   "our   Savage   Manteo, 


by  the  commandment  of  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh  was  Christened  in  Roanoke 
and  called  Lord  thereof,  and  of  Dasa- 
monguepeuk,  in  reward  of  his  faithful 
service.  The  eighteenth,  Eleanor, 
daughter  to  the  Governor,  and  wife 
to  Ananias  Dare,  was  delivered  of  a 
daughter  in  Roanoke,  and  the  same 
was  Christened  there  the  Sunday  fol- 
lowing, and  because  this  was  the  first 
Christian  born  in  Virginia,  she  was 
named  'Virginia'."  These  two  bap- 
tisms practically  settle  the  question 
of  the  presence  of  an  English  priest 
in  the  colony. 

And  as  this  was  almost  the  first 
thing  we  read  of  that  ill-fated  colony 
at  Roanoke,  so  it  is  almost  the  last  that 
we  know  of  them.  August  twenty- 
seventh  the  fleet  sailed  back  to  Eng- 
land, John  White,  the  governor,  going 
with  it,  and  that  is  the  last  we  know 
of  those  whom  he  left  behind  in  that 
strange  and  savage  land.  They  were 
doubtless  slain  by  the  Indians,  as  the 
Jamestown  colony,  twenty  years  later, 
after   diligent   investigation,   reported. 


STONE   MARKING   THE    SITE    OF 
FORT  RALEIGH 


346 


How  Our  Church  Came  to  Our  Country 


//.   Permanent  Settlement 

The  permanent  settlement  of  North 
Carolina  dates  from  March,  1662 
(1661  old  style).  On  that  day  George 
Durant  purchased  from  an  Indian 
Chief,  Kilcocanen,  styling  himself 
"King  of  Yeopim",  a  neck  of  land  be- 
tween Perquimans  river  and  Albe- 
marle Sound,  still  known  as  "Durant's 
Neck".  The  deed  was  afterwards  re- 
corded and  is  the  oldest  land  title  in 
North  Carolina. 

By  the  end  of  the  century  the  settle- 
ments extended  along  the  whole  north 
shore  of  the  Sound,  as  far  west  as 
beyond  the  Chowan  River,  and  also 
across  the  Sound  on  the  south  shore. 
The  settlers  came  almost  wholly  from 
Virginia  and  were  probably  nominal 
Churchmen.  The  statement  that  they 
were  Quakers  and  Baptists,  fleeing 
from  religious  intolerance  in  New 
England  and  Virginia,  has  been  en- 
tirely disproved  by  the  publication  of 
contemporary  records.  Wm.  Edmund- 
son,  the  first  Quaker  preacher  who 
visited  the  settlements,  found  only  one 
family  of  Quakers  ten  years  after 
George  Durant's  settlement;  and 
George  Fox,  who  came  six  months 
after  Edmundson,  had  much  the  same 
experience.  Their  preaching,  however, 
made  converts,  and  other  zealous  men 
coming  in  from  year  to  year,  and  con- 
tinuing their  work,  meetings  for  wor- 
ship and  for  discipline  were  soon  es- 
tablished, and  Quakers  became  numer- 
ous and  influential  in  the  two  precincts, 
Perquimans  and  Pasquotank.  To  the 
Quakers  therefore  belongs  the  honor 
of  being  the  first  to  take  thought  of 
these  feeble  folk,  and  to  set  up  Chris- 
tian worship  among  them. 

In  1699  Bishop  Compton,  preparing 
to  send  the  Reverend  Dr.  Thomas 
Bray,  his  commissary,  to  Maryland, 
directed  him  to  visit  the  Albemarle 
settlements,  to  learn  the  religious  con- 
dition and  needs  of  the  people.  For 
some  reason  he  could  not  carry  out 
his  design,  but  about  the  end  of  1700 


he  scut,  probably  to  Henderson 
Walker,  acting  governor,  "some  books 
of  his  own  particular  pious  gift  of  the 
explanation  of  the  Church  catechism, 
with  some  other  small  books",  for 
distribution.  Soon  after  he  sent  one 
Daniel  Brett,  a  clergyman,  to  officiate 
in  the  colony,  and  with  him  a  hundred 
pounds'  worth  of  books  for  a  public 
library,  eventually  established  at  Bath. 
The  Reverend  Daniel  Brett  proved  un- 
worthy and  we  hear  no  more  of  him. 

The  leading  men  of  the  colony  seem 
to  have  been  almost  without  exception 
Churchmen  and  at  the  head  of  these 
was  Henderson  Walker,  acting  gover- 
nor. Under  their  influence  the  assem- 
bly of  1701  passed  an  act  erecting  the 
five  precincts,  Chowan,  Perquimans, 
Pasquotank,  and  Currituck,  north  of 
Albemarle  Sound,  and  Pamlico  on  the 
South  Shore,  into  parishes,  appointing 
a  "select  vestry"  in  each  parish,  au- 
thorizing these  vestries  to  lay  taxes^ 
for  building  churches,  purchasing 
glebes,  and  employing  clergymen  and 
readers.  By  subsequent  acts  the  ves- 
tries were  made  overseers  of  the  poor 
and  keepers  of  the  standards  of 
weights  and  measures. 

Thus,  before  any  ministers  had 
served  in  the  colony,  the  people  them- 
selves were  endeavoring  to  set  up  the 
Church  of  their  fathers.  Every  civil 
division  was  given  also  an  ecclesiastical 
organization.  And  whatever  may  be 
said  of  the  indifference  of  many  and 
the  opposition  of  some,  this  legal  es- 
tablishment, each  county  being  a  parish 
with  its  wardens  and  vestrymen,  was 
continued  by  the  free  action  of  the 
people  of  North  Carolina  in  succes- 
sive enactments  until  1776. 

This  act  of  1701,  however  faulty, 
at  least  gave  evidence  of  a  reviving 
interest  in  religion :  it  invited  the  at- 
tention of  the  mother  country,  and 
it  provided  some  organization  for  the 
Church.  Under  this  law  a  small 
church  was  built  in  Chowan  parish, 
near  the  site  of  the  present  town  of 


34/ 


How  Our  Church  Came  to  Our  Country 


Edenton ;  another  in  Perquimans,  "a 
compact  little  church  built  with  more 
care,  and  better  contrived  than  that 
in  Chowan".  In  these  churches  serv- 
ices were  held^  and  sermons  read  on 
Sundays  by  "readers"  employed  and 
paid  by  the  vestry. 
/The  Society  for  the  Propagation  of 
'  the  Gospel  in  foreign  parts  was  incor- 
porated in  1701.  It  sent  as  its  first 
missionary  to  North  Carolina  the  Rev- 
erend John  Blair,  in  the  spring  of 
1704.  He  came  to  explore  and  to  re- 
port upon  conditions  and  need,  though 
it  was  intended  that  he  should  also  re- 
main and  minister  to  the  people.  He 
was  a  godly  and  faithful  man.  He 
baptized  many  children,  visited  the 
parishes  of  Chowan,  Perquimans  and 
Pasquotank,  called  the  vestries  to- 
gether, encouraged  and  instructed 
them  in  their  duties,  and  urged  them 
to  keep  up  the  services  of  the  Church 
by  the  employment  of  readers.  But 
ihe  incessant  labor  of  endeavoring  to 
serve  so  large  a  field,  the  exposure  and 
hardships,  with  the  lack  of  an  adequate 
support,  brought  his  labors  to  an  early 
close,  and  he  left  for  England  after 
only  five  or  six  months  in  Albemarle. 
It  appears  therefore  that  the  intro- 
duction of  the  worship  of  the  Church 
into  North  Carolina  owed  but  little  to 
the  work  or  influence  of  the  clergy. 
The  act  of  the  assembly  was  passed, 
churches  were  built,  and  the  worship 
of  the  Church  carried  on  by  the  peo- 
ple themselves.  In  one  or  two  cases 
we  get  a  little  glimpse  of  the  good 
work  of  the  readers.  Governor  Glover 
thus  writes  of  Mr.  Charles  Griffin : 
"This  gentleman,  being  of  an  unblem- 
ished life,  by  his  discreet  behavior,  in 
that  office  (of  reader),  and  by  apt 
discourses  from  house  to  house  ac- 
cording to  the  capacities  of  an  ignorant 
people,  not  only  kept  those  he  found, 
but  joined  many  to  the  Church  in  the 
midst  of  its  enemies,  insomuch  that 
the  Reverend  Richard  Marsden,  wait- 
ing here  for  a  passage  to  South  Caro- 
lina, thought  it  convenient  to  admin- 


ister the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per, which  is  the  first  time  1  can  learn 
of  its  being  administered  in  this  poor 
county.  This  was  done  on  Trinity 
Sunday,  1706,  and  the  same  day  forty- 
five  persons,  infants  and  adults,  were 
baptized."  Another  account  a  few 
years  later  is  from  the  pen  of  the 
Reverend  Mr.  Denny,  of  South  Caro- 
lina, who  spent  a  few  days  in  the  par- 
ish of  Pamlico,  Bath  County,  where 
there  had  been  no  minister  at  all.  He 
says :  "During  my  stay  I  lodged  at 
one  Major  Gale's  (Christopher  Gale, 
afterwards  Chief  Justice),  a  very  civil 
gentleman,  at  whose  house  the  people 
met  each  Sunday,  where  a  young 
gentleman,  a  lawyer,  was  appointed  to 
read  prayers  and  a  sermon,  they  hav- 
ing no  minister." 

777.    First  Missionaries   of   the 
S.  P.  G. 

The  next  missionaries  sent  out  to 
work  under  the  S.  P.  G.  were  the  Rev- 
erend Wm.  Gordon  and  the  Reverend 
'James  Adams,  who  came  in  April, 
1708.  Mr.  Gordon  remained  only  a 
few  months  but  the  Reverend  Mr. 
Adams  labored  faithfully  and  effec- 
tively, and  wore  himself  out  in  the 
work,  dying  within  a  few  weeks  after 
his  departure  for  Virginia  in  Septem- 
ber, 1710.  They  were  both  good  men 
and  their  letters  are  our  chief  source 
/  of  information  concerning  the  first 
(work  of  the  Church  in  Albemarle. 
'The  year  1710  very  nearly  completed 
fifty  years  of  the  life  of  the  colony 
of  Albemarle,  or  North  Carolina,  as 
it  had  now  begun  to  be  called.  The 
population  was  increasing  not  rapidly 
'  but  steadily,  spreading  over  several 
thousand  square  miles.  It  was  wholly 
a  rural  population.  Its  first  town, 
Bath,  had  been  incorporated  in  1709 
and  contained  less  than  a  dozen  houses. 
Its  second  town,  Newbern,  was  barely 
begun  and  not  yet  incorporated.  Eden- 
ton had  not  come  into  being.  There 
was  no  center  of  population,  and  little 

348 


How  Our  Church  Came  to  Our  Country 


SAINT  THOMAS'S  CHURCH,  BATH 

community  life.  In  almost  all  parts 
of  the  colony  the  people  desired  the 
ministrations  of  the  Church  but  they 
were  mostly  living  upon  isolated  plan- 
tations. No  missionaries  could  reach 
and  serve  a  sufficient  number  of  peo- 
ple to  form  any  effective  organization. 
The  legal  establishment,  with  its  power 
to  levy  taxes  for  the  support  of  the 
Church,  was  a  real  disadvantage,  be- 
cause it  provided  no  adequate  support 
while  it  took  off  the  sense  of  obliga- 
tion from  the  most  zealous  members 
of  the  Church.  Clergymen  and  mis- 
sionaries came  and  labored  for  a  while 
and  then  disappeared ;  some  good, 
some  indifferent,  others  weak  and  un- 
worthy; and  very  few  of  them,  even 
the  best,  able  to  deal  effectively  with 
the  strange  conditions  of  the  new  and 
poor  settlements. 

Gradually,  however,  some  centers-  of 
ordered  life  began  to  emerge  from 
the  confusion.  The  first  church  build- 
ing worthy  to  be  called  permanent,  in- 
dicating the  development  of  a  regu- 


lar congregation,  is  Saint  Thomas's 
Church,  Bath,  still  standing,  begun  in 
1742,  but  not  finished  until  many  years, 
later.  Three  godly  and  faithful  men 
served  in  this  parish  from  1721  to 
1771,  and  laid  permanent  foundations 
in  the  spiritual  life  of  the  country. 
These  were  Ebenezer  Taylor,  1721-2; 
John  Garzia,  1735-1744;  and  Ale? 
ander  Stewart,  1753-1771. 

Taylor  and  Garzia  died  from  the 
immediate  effects  of  hardship  and  ex- 
posure in  traveling  over  the  vast  ter- 
ritory under  their  care.  The  third, 
Alexander  Stewart,  wore  himself  out 
with  incessant  labor,  leaving  a  name 
second  to  none  in  the  history  of  Chris- 
tian work  in  North  Carolina.  The 
Negroes  and  the  Indians  claimed  his 
special  sympathy  and  care.  He  sought 
out  the  perishing  remnants  of  the  old 
Hatteras  and  Roanoke  tribes,  taught 
them  the  principles  of  Christianity,  and 
established  a  school  among  them  for 
the  children.  He  crowned  his  work 
by  sending  over  to  England  for  ordi- 


SAINT  PAUL'S  CHURCH,  EDENTON 


349 


How  Our  Church  Came  to  Our  Country 


nation  two  notable  men  of  the  colony, 
Peter  Blynn  and  Nathaniel  Blount. 
In  1744  Clement  Hall  of  Perquimans, 
a  prominent  man  in  his  county,  was 
ordered  deacon  and  priest  in  London. 
Two  Sundays  in  the  month  he  offi- 
ciated in  Saint  Paul's  Church,  Eden- 
ton,  and  the  other  Sundays  in  distant 
missions  where  the  settlers  soon 
learned  to  love  this  holy  man.  On  his 
missionary  journeys  east  and  west  no 
house  would  hold  his  congregations. 
He  had  to  seek  the  shelter  of  the 
groves,  where  the  birds  were  the 
choristers,  and  where  between  the 
pauses  in  their  music  they  heard  "the 
bass  of  heaven's  deep  organ  blow". 
During  one  of  these  missionary  jour- 
neys in  the  months  of  September  and 
October,  1753,  he  reports  that  he  had 
in  thirty-five  days  traveled  536  miles, 
officiated  in  twenty-three  congrega- 
tions, baptized  467  white  infants,  two 
white  adults,  and  twenty-one  black 
children.  A  large  and  handsome 
church  building  had  been  begun  in 
Edenton — Saint  Paul's  Parish  Church, 
still  standing.  Under  his  zealous  min- 
istry, the  work  was  taken  up  with  re: 
newed  vigor,  and  put  in  the  way  of 
being  finished.    He  died  in  1759. 

IV.  Colonial  Churches 
The  most  notable  of  our  Colonial 
churches  was  Saint  Paul's,  Chowan 
Parish,  in  the  town  of  Edenton,  which 
has  already  been  noticed.  Within  a 
very  few  years  of  their  foundation  the 
Chowan  vestry  took  as  their  ecclesias- 
tical name  "Saint  Paul's  Church." 
This  vestry  met  for  organization  De- 
cember 15,  1701,  the  vestry  act  having 
been  passed  November  twelfth,  pre- 
ceding. It  is  not  only  the  oldest  or- 
ganized religious  body  in  the  state,  it 
is  the  oldest  corporation  of  any  kind 
in  North  Carolina.  Its  record  book 
beginning  with  that  first  meeting  is 
still  in  existence,  and  is  an  invaluable 
historical  document.  If  we  may  at  all 
judge  the  other  parish  vestries  by 
Saint   Paul's,   the   vestrymen    of    the 


parishes  were  the  most  eminent  and 
worthy  men  of  the  country.  Gover- 
nors Walker,  Pollock,  Glover,  Chief 
Justice  Christopher  Gale,  Edward 
Mosley  and  other  distinguished  names 
appear  in  these  early  vestry  lists.  Its 
spacious  and  handsome  parish  church, 
still  in  use,  gives  some  indication  of  its 
strength  and  importance ;  while  its 
communion  silver  bears  names  associ- 
ated with  the  early  periods  of  its  his- 
tory. The  Reverend  Clement  Hall 
was  succeeded  in  this  parish  by  the 
Reverend  Daniel  Earl,  who  continued 
in  charge  until  about  the  close  of  the 
Revolution. 

Newbern,  the  first  important  center 
of  population  south  of  Pamlico,  was 
laid  out  about  1710  by  Governor  Pol- 
lock ( in  connection  with  the  coming  of 
De  Graffenreid's  colony  from  Berne 
and  the  Palatinate),  but  it  was  not  in- 
corporated until  1823.  The  colonists 
upon  their  first  coming  desired  that 
their  Protestant  pastor  might  be  or- 
dained by  the  Bishop  of  London ;  and 
they  seemed  desirous  of  adopting  the 
Prayer  Book  in  their  worship,  and  of 
conforming  to  the  Church  of  England. 
The  effect  of  the  Indian  War  of  1711 
was  so  disastrous  to  all  this  section, 
that  we  know  little  of  its  religious  his- 
tory until  the  coming  of  the  Reverend 
James  Reed  in  1753  to  be  rector  of 
Christ  Church,  Newbern,  Craven  Par- 
ish. Lender  him  a  handsome  church 
was  completed ;  the  "Newbern  Acad- 
emy" was  incorporated  and  estab- 
lished ;  and  the  ministrations  of  the 
Church  were  extended  through  Craven 
county  and  the  neighbbring  section. 
In  1770,  Governor  William  Tryon  re- 
moved to  Newbern  and  made  this 
town  his  official  residence.  The  very 
handsome  and  massive  communion 
service,  now  belonging  to  Christ 
Church,  Newbern,  was  probably 
brought  by  Tryon  to  Newbern  when 
he  moved  the  seat  of  government.  It 
seems  to  be  mentioned  in  connection 
with  the  consecration  of  Saint  Philip's 
Church,  Brunswick,  in  1768. 


350 


How  Our  Church  Came  to  Our  Country 


COMMUNION  SERVICE,  CHRIST 
CHURCH,  NEWBERN 


Perhaps  the  largest  and  handsomest 
of  the  Colonial  churches  in  North 
Carolina  was  erected  in  Brunswick. 
Its  massive  brick  walls,  nearly  three 
feet  in  thickness  and  even  now  prac- 
tically intact,  though  for  a  century  ex- 
posed roofless  to  the  weather,  still 
attest  its  solid  structure  and  its  noble 
proportions.  Saint  Philip's  Church, 
Brunswick,  was  consecrated,  with  an 
elaborate  service  approved  by  Gover- 
nor Tryon,  on  Tuesday  in  Whitsun- 
week,  1768,  by  the  Reverend  John  Bar- 
nett  and  the  Reverend  John  Wills. 
The  King  had  sent  to  the  province  a 
communion  service  of  massive  silver 
for  use  in  the  King's  Chapel;  and  Gov- 
ernor Tryon  gave  that  designation  to 
this  church,  since  Brunswick  was  then 
his  residence.  It  has  upon  the  several 
pieces  of  heavy  silver  the  royal  arms, 
with  the  inscription  "Ex  Dono  Regis", 
but  without  any  designation  of  parish 
or  of  church.  When  Tryon  a  year  or 
two  later  removed  from  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Brunswick  to  Newbern,  and 
established  himself  in  the  official  resi- 
dence erected  for  the  governor  of  the 
province,  that  fact  would  seem  to  con- 
stitute Christ  Church,  Newbern,  "the 
King's  Chapel"  in  North  Carolina  ;  and 
so  the  massive  silver  vessels  sent  over 
by  the  King  would  naturally  be  found 
there. 

In  the  meantime  Wilmington  had 
become  the  largest  town  in  North  Car- 
olina though  not  incorporated  until 
1739.  The  older  town  of  Brunswick 
was  eventually  abandoned  on  account 


of  its  exposed  and  unhealthy  situation, 
and  its  wealth  and  culture  were  gradu- 
ally transferred  to  Wilmington.  But 
of  Saint  James's  Church,  Wilmington, 
New  HanoVer  Parish,  we  know  little 
before  the  middle  of  the  century.  By 
that  time  a  handsome  church  building 
was  in  process  of  erection,  but  was  not 
finished  until  many  years  later.  Be- 
fore that  time  we  hear  of  a  number  of 
ministers  officiating  in  this  section 
from  time  to  time;  Ebenezer  Taylor 
and  Richard  Marsden,  both  already 
mentioned,  and  others.  Then  came  the 
Reverend  John  McDowell  in  1754,  the 
Reverend  John  Barnett  in  1765,  and 
the  Reverend  John  Wills  in  1769. 
The  parish  was  becoming  strong  and 
influential,  in  a  prosperous  and  rapidly 
growing  community  inheriting  the  tra- 
ditions of  the  Church. 

This  brings  us  toward  the  end  of 
the  Colonial  period.  It  must  be  said 
that  the  royal  governors  had  all  been 


SAINT  JOHN'S  CHURCH, 
WILLIAMSBORO 


351 


How  Our  Church  Came  to  Our  Country 


men  disposed  to  advance  the  interests 
of  religion  among  the  people  and  to 
build  up  the  Church  of  which  they 
were  members.  Especially  Governor 
Tryon  was  most  zealous,  liberal  and 
energetic.  He  did  more  for  the 
Church  than  all  his  predecessors.  De- 
serving and  enjoying  the  confidence 
and  good  will  of  the  dissenters  of  the 
province,  for  his  just  and  liberal 
course  towards  them,  he  at  the  same 
time  exerted  himself  so  earnestly  and 
persistently  for  the  Church  that 
whereas  he  found  on  coming  to  North 
Carolina  hardly  half  a  dozen  settled 
clergymen,  he  reports  in  1770  eighteen 
ministers  settled  in  as  many  parishes. 

There  was  a  sad  period  of  destruc- 
tion and  decay  soon  to  follow.  But 
the  foregoing  is  an  attempt  to  show 
partially  at  least  hovo  our  Church 
came  to  North  Carolina.  How  it 
seemed  to  die  down  and  then  to  revive 
in  1817,  is  another  story. 


It  will  be  observed  that  the  "North 
Carolina"  of  the  preceding  pages  is  the 
state  of  North  Carolina,  and  all  the 
principal  matters  referred  to  were  ter- 
ritorially within  the  limits  of  the  pres- 
ent diocese  of  East  Carolina,  where 
all  the  early  settlements  were  made. 
There  is  but  one  Colonial  church  build- 
ing in  the  present  diocese  of  North 
Carolina,  namely  Saint  John's  Church, 
Williamsboro,  a  frame  church,  sound 
and  solid  today,  though  built  in  1767, 
in  the  old  Colonial  parish  of  Saint 
John's,  Granville.  From  that  parish 
went  Charles  Pettigrew  to  be  school- 
master in  Edenton  ;  then  to  be  ordained 
in  London  in  1775  (the  last  clergyman 
ordained  in  England  for  North  Caro- 
lina) ;  then  in  1794  elected  bishop  of 
North  Carolina.  In  the  sad  confusion 
and  weakness  of  those  days  he  died 
without  having  been  consecrated.  Not 
until  1817  was  the  diocese  organized, 
and  in  1823  the  first  bishop — John 
Stark  Ravenscroft — was  consecrated. 


CLASS  WORK 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  LESSON 

OUTSIDE  of  the  general  Church  his- 
tories, such  as  Tiffany's  and  McCon- 
nell's,  material  on  North  Carolina  is  ex- 
tremely scarce.  In  preparing  this  article 
Bishop  Cheshire  has  had  access  to  records 
which  are  not  available  to  the  general  pub- 
lic. It  will  therefore  be  a  valuable  addition 
to  the  early  history  of  our  Church  and  will 
itself  supply  all  the  material  necessary  for 
the  preparation  for  the  lesson,  if  supple- 
mented by  any  good  secular  history. 
THE  FIRST  FIVE  MINUTES 
There  is  no  more  fascinating  chapter  in 
the  annals  of  our  colonial  life  than  that 
which  chronicles  the  voyage  of  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh,  that  brave  and  gallant  courtier  of 
Queen  Elizabeth,  who  met  with  such  a 
pathetic  end.  Ask  the  class  to  read  up  his 
life  in  their  English  histories. 

TEACHING  THE  LESSON 
I.  The  Arrival  of  the  Englishmen  in  Vir- 
ginia. 

1.  What  is  the  seal  of  North  Carolina? 

2.  Explain   how  what  is   now  known   as 
North  Carolina  was  then  called  Virginia. 

3.  Which  was  the  first  English  colony  in 
America? 


II.  Permanent  Settlement 

1.  When  and  where  was  the  first  perma- 
nent settlement   of   North   Carolina  made? 

2.  What  religious  body  was  the  first  to 
set  up  Christian  worship? 

3.  What  five  parishes  did  the  assembly  of 
1701  create? 

4.  Whom  did  the  S.  P.  G.  send  as  its 
first  missionary  to  North  Carolina,  and  why 
did  he  not  stay? 

III.  First  Missionaries  of  the  S.  P.  G. 

1.  Who  were  the  next  missionaries  to  be 
sent  to  North  Carolina  and  what  conditions 
did  they  find? 

2.  Which  was  the  first  permanent  church 
building? 

3.  Tell  about  Clement  Hall's  life  and 
work  in  Edenton. 

IV.  Colonial   Churches. 

1.  What  eminent  men  served  on  the  ves- 
try of  Saint  Paul's  Church,  Edenton? 

2.  How  did  Newbern  receive  its  name? 

3.  What  governor  did  much  to  build  up 
the  Church  in  the  state? 

4.  Who  was  the  first  man  to  be  elected 
bishop  of  North  Carolina? 

5.  Who  was  the  first  to  be  consecrated 
as   its  bishop? 


352 


UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


00034004728 

FOR  USE  ONLY  IN 
THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  COLLECTION 


Form  No.  A-368,  Rev.  8/95 


